Ku Komena Nyundo: The Africana Studies Effect

19 Pages·2017·0.12 MB·English

Ku Komena Nyundo:
The Africana Studies Effect

by

Serie McDougal, III
[email protected]
Department of Africana Studies, San Francisco State University;
Co-Director, Afrometrics Research Institute

&

Dawn-Elissa Fischer
[email protected]
Chair, Department of Africana Studies
San Francisco State University

Author Profile
Serie McDougal, III is an Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies, in the
College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He is also the director of the Black
Unity Center at SF State. He received his B.S. in Sociology from Loras College in Dubuque,
Iowa. Additionally, he has an MA in Africana Studies from the State University of New York at
Albany, NY, and a Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia,
PA. Serie McDougal is also the co-director of the Afrometrics Research Institute.
Dawn-Elissa Fischer is currently Chair of the Department of Africana (Black) Studies at San
Francisco State University. Dr. Fischer is the recipient of multiple awards, fellowships, and
grants, including the Nasir Jones Fellowship (Hiphop Archive, WEB Du Bois Institute, Hutchins
Center, Harvard University). Dr. Fischer’s research is published in The Western Journal of Black
Studies, FIRE!!! The Multimedia Journal of Black Studies, Transforming Anthropology, The
Journal of Popular Music Studies, and Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century. Dr. Fischer’s
oeuvre has been recognized in Diverse Issues in Higher Education and PBS KQLR’s
Blackademics.

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Abstract
This study is an investigation of the impact of Africana Studies on student thought and practice,
known as the Africana Studies effect. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 89
students who had taken at-least one Africana Studies course to understand the overall impact of
Africana Studies on them. Coding revealed several key themes: Historical Location, Knowledge
of Self, Sense of Social Responsibility, Relevant/Engaging, Communal Environment, Special
Connection to Professors, and Unique Perspective. The results have implications for the effective
administration of Africana Studies departments and programs and ways Universities can more
effectively support Africana Studies and students.

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The emergence of leadership among the Luba people of Central Africa is associated with
metamorphosis and transformation. The divine leader of the Luba must undergo a ceremony
called Ku Komena Nyundo, the beating or striking of the anvils. The symbol of striking an anvil
was chosen because a leader was believed to undergo transformation the same way that a
Blacksmith transforms raw metal into tools and instruments for communities. Like the vast
diversity of traditional African rites of passage, this custom is grounded in the thinking that
personal transformation (spiritual/development of consciousness) is linked to the wellbeing of
society.

Among the Luba and many other societies, adults were sometimes initiated into what are
known as societies of secrets which maintained the harmonious functioning of society by
producing people with specialized skills to provide essential services (Imhotep, 2009). These
societies maintained and advanced specified ancient cultural knowledge and traditions. The
training received was typically based on a moral and spiritual foundation (Hilliard, 1997). The
knowledge they acquired had to be kept confidential so that it stayed in the hands of those who
were trained to use it responsibly and efficiently (Imhotep, 2009). Initiation into these societies
generally followed the same general format of transformation, including separation,
testing\teaching, and reincorporation. Successfully undergoing a series of difficult initiation
processes allowed individuals, to enter and advance to higher ranks within these associations
(Müller and Ritz-Müller, 2000). Successful initiates joined these non-hierarchical, professional
castes, often associated with professions that were vital to the community, such as iron
smelters\blacksmiths, stonemasons, woodcarvers, engineers, farmers, warriors, sages, herbalists,
and diviners (Imhotep, 2009; Williams, 1987). Because racism is endemic to institutions that
deliver key services in the United States, personal transformation is critical because it may
influence social transformation. Additionally, transformation is often important among
populations for whom the status quo is oppressive.

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This article examines the effects of courses in Africana Studies (i.e., the culturally and
historically grounded study of peoples of African descent for the purpose of higher level
functioning and liberation) on student success and degree completion. This phenomenon is
known as “the Africana Studies effect,” a phrase created to represent how important Africana
Studies courses and degree programs are to graduation and advancement of students as well as
the universities they attend. The question this study seeks to answer is to what degree Africana
Studies has actually had a transformative impact on Africana people, communities, and
institutions of higher education.

Education plays a role in this culture of transformation, and in some very important ways,
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played a critical role in educational
transformation. The successes of HBCUs are, in part, due to the fact that they generally provide
Black students with same-race role models and supportive and nurturing environment, serving
them by providing mentorship, research opportunities, and guidance through college to
professional life (Stovall, 2005). Overall enrollment rates for Black students in post-secondary
institutions have steadily increased over the past 40 years; increasingly outside of HBCUs
(Beasley, Chapman-Hilliard & McClain, 2016). However, despite demographic shifts, Black
students’ six-year graduation rates remain at nearly 40% compared to approximately 60% for all
students (Beasley, Chapman-Hilliard & McClain, 2016). This is in large part due to the fact that
the American educational system has not been sufficiently attentive to the unique needs of its
Black students, particularly at institutions where Black students are underrepresented, including
but not limited to, Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) (Carey & Allen, 1977).

Consequently, Black students have a more difficult time than White students at PWIs
(Carey & Allen, 1977). Black students at PWIs sometimes see themselves as isolated
academically and socially (Carey & Allen, 1977). However, since 1968, colleges and
universities across the United States have experienced the growth of Black Studies (hereafter
referred to as Africana Studies) (Karenga, 2010). Moreover, the discipline is grounded in the
principles of academic excellence, social responsibility, and cultural grounding (Karenga, 2010).
The present study is an investigation of the overall impact of Africana Studies courses on
African American/Black students at a University on the west coast of the United States. Because
of the challenges that Black students are confronted with on campuses where they are
underrepresented, it is imperative that university administrators, faculty, and Black communities
be able to draw on empirical research about culturally responsive solutions.

Africana Studies departments are key constituencies in efforts to enhance Black student
success, given that they are pedagogically focused on studying the lives and cultures of people of
African descent. Moreover, compared to other departments on college campuses, Africana
Studies departments often have the highest percentages of Black faculty on campuses where
Black faculty are underrepresented. Because of these and other factors, a failure to engage in the
systematic study of the impact of Africana Studies on students, particularly Black students, can
leave universities and other key actors ill-informed and underequipped to meet the needs of
Black student populations.

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Existing Literature

This review of scholarly literature surveys existing research on the structure and impacts
of culturally relevant pedagogy on Black students, the unique challenges that Black students face
on PWI and HBCU campuses, and what is known about the impact on Africana Studies of
student thought and practice (known as the Africana Studies effect). A limited number of studies
have been conducted measuring the impact of culturally relevant pedagogy on Black students at
the middle and high school levels. Investigations reveal the impact of culturally relevant
pedagogy on Black students’ perceptions of themselves and their possibilities. Lewis, Sullivan
& Bybee (2006) conducted an experiment examining the effect of a school-based emancipatory
intervention on the psychological and behavioral wellbeing of sixty-five eighth grade African
American adolescents. They randomly assigned participants to either receive the experimental
intervention or a regular Life Skills course (the control condition). The experimental intervention
included a curriculum that covered African/African American History and Culture; Building
Cohesion and Communalism; African Rituals and Practices; Enhancing Interpersonal Skills &
Inner Strength; Putting Theory into Practice; Student Leadership and Activism; School and
Community Partnerships; and Positive Behavior. After a semester, the intervention had led to
increased communalism, belief in the value of their African and African diasporic heritage, and
motivation to achieve (Lewis, Sullivan & Bybee, 2006). Investigations like this demonstrate the
impact of a range of culturally responsive tools on students’ self-perceptions. However, the
effects of culturally relevant pedagogy go beyond shifts in values.

Some investigations have focused on particular components of culturally relevant
pedagogy, such as texts. For example, Rickford (2001) examined the impact of culturally
relevant texts and found that they increase student enjoyment, interest, and motivation, thus
improving students’ performance in reading comprehension. Results indicated that despite
conventional wisdom, students who are poor readers may still engage in higher order thinking
(Rickford, 2001). Rickford found that, when they have the opportunity to learn through
culturally relevant literature and adequate scaffolding (through strategic questioning), they
demonstrate original and critical thought (Rickford, 2001).

How might culturally relevant pedagogy affect students who are already achieving
highly? While underachievement is a frequent subject of study among Black youth in education,
high-achieving Black students remain under-researched. However, Carter (2008) examined the
embodiment of a critical race achievement ideology in high-achieving Black students. She
conducted a yearlong qualitative investigation of the adaptive behaviors that nine high-achieving
Black students developed and employed to navigate the process of schooling at an upper-class,
predominantly White, suburban public high school while maintaining school success and
positive racial self-definition. Based on an analysis of interview data, participant observations,
and field notes, Carter (2008) concluded that students' conceptions of race and how race operates
in their daily lives informs their constructions of achievement beliefs, attitudes, and self-
definitions and informs their racialization and deracialization of the task of achieving. Carter’s
(2008) findings indicate that students with strong racial and achievement identities may develop

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a critical race achievement ideology and enact resilient, adaptive behaviors in racially
challenging contexts and that enhances their abilities to meet and overcome diversity. However,
higher education environments expose students to more complex environments.

African American College Student Experiences

Most African American college students attend Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs)
or schools where they are underrepresented. It is critical to understand colleges and universities
as reflections of larger society. At PWIs, Black students often encounter a racially hostile
institutional subculture, which is an extension of anti-Black racial hostility in the country and
world (Stovall, 2005). On these campuses, implicit and unstated racism masquerades behind
seemingly neutral academic topics like literature, philosophy, science, and many others, which
essentially prioritize western literature, European philosophy, and European contributions and
perspectives in science. Sometimes, White students and professors in the classrooms where these
subjects are taught and discussed, unconsciously and consciously act in a racist manner (Stovall,
2005). This can make Black students feel unwelcome, and place them consciously or
unconsciously on the defensive, or make them feel isolated in such environments (Stovall, 2005).

Problems like these emerge and are allowed to fester due to assimilationist approaches to
campus diversity and academic success rooted in a troubling logical fallacy. Assimilationist
logic about diversity on campuses assumes that if Black students are brought to campuses,
diversity is achieved and success should logically follow (Adams, 2014). Assimilationist logic
relies on the notion of demographic inclusion without a truly inclusive campus cultural
environment. Black students often arrive at college campuses expecting them to be liberal
spaces, instead finding them unsupportive, confusing, and hostile (Adams, 2014). They are
confronted with marginalization, covert racism, unsupportive cultural environments, and
curriculum from which their cultural experiences have been removed or marginalized (Adams,
2014). In addition to financial and academic challenges, racial/cultural marginalization can
intensify Black students’ feelings of alienation and isolation, underperformance, and ultimately
attrition from school (Fischer, 2007; Dahlvig, 2010). Colleges are also environments where
students confronted with these challenges may discover the discipline of Africana Studies.

What Africana Studies Offers Black Students

In unique ways, African Studies pedagogical approaches have been found to provide students
with social supports, racial socialization, cultural pride, departmental activities and services, and
knowledge of their heritage as they relate to multiple subject areas (Carey & Allen, 1977;
Adams, 2014). These pedagogical approaches in Africana Studies are associated with positive
racial identity development, increased self-esteem, self-efficacy, and the likelihood of graduating
(Marie, 2016).

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Social supports, racial socialization, and messages about cultural pride and Black heritage
are all predictors of academic achievement and resilience (Brown, 2008). The social benefits of
Africana Studies are well supported. For example, Africana Studies students’ acquire the skills
and knowledge to cope with racism and other forms of social injustice by providing them with
models of success that don’t involve adopting the values of White cultures. Moreover, students
enrolled in Africana Studies courses report increased cultural knowledge and personal agency
(Adams, 2014). It must also be understood that Africana Studies has a reach that includes
students of all identities and it impacts students on campuses beyond Africana Studies majors
and minors through general education courses, electives, and departmental programs and
services (Adams, 2014).

As students become aware of the social and intellectual benefits of Africana Studies,
many decide to be majors or minor. Marie (2016) investigated the reasons that African
American undergraduate students choose to enroll or not enroll in Africana Studies courses in an
African Studies program that offered a minor. She also investigated the relationship between
racial identity and Africana Studies. Participants included Africana Studies minors and students
who participated in Black student organizations. Marie (2016) found that those who were
Africana Studies minors: 1. felt a greater connection to the African diaspora, 2. a greater sense of
self, and 3. a more positive racial identity than those who were not. Those who chose to minor in
Africana Studies did so because they: wanted to learn more about the history of their ancestors
and to gain a more culturally grounded perspective. Those who chose not to, did so because they
viewed Africana Studies as unrelated to their major and graduation requirements, and they felt
that they lacked knowledge about Africana Studies. Marie (2016) also found that participants
experienced a transformation in their sense of racial identity since their first years due to the
Africana Studies courses they had taken. In particular, they reported feeling a greater sense of
pride and confidence in their identity and less tolerance for racial injustice. Africana Studies
minors explained that taking Africana Studies courses impacted them by providing them with
unique forms of academic and social support.

They reported feeling a greater sense of belonging because Africana Studies linked
academic skill, rigor, and knowledge production with Black identities, cultures, and experiences.
They also mentioned that Black faculty in Africana Studies were like family, especially
supportive, and took a personal interest in them compared to the hostility and microaggressions
they often felt in their other courses (Marie, 2016). According to Adams (2014), Black faculty in
Africana Studies’ approach to students is akin to ‘other mothering’ or being teachers, mentors,
parents, and nurturers. They also felt freer to be their authentic selves in their Africana Studies
courses because they create an environment where Black students feel that they have a voice.
Hence, Africana Studies removes some of the psychological barriers that block Black students’
progress toward graduation. The Africana Studies effect that this research hopes to uncover, is
the totality of the impact that Africana Studies has on Black students, institutions they are a part
of, their communities and environments, and the world (Adams, 2014).

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Methods

The present study was conducted at a public research university located in northern
California where the majority of the students enrolled have racially underrepresented identities
such as Native American/Alaskan Native, Latinx, Asian (multiple ethnicities), Native
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and those who identify as two or more races. However, 5% identify as
Black/African American. Hereafter the institution will be referred to by the pseudonym,
Diversity University. Eighty-nine current students at Diversity University who had taken a
course in the Africana Studies Department were surveyed about their experiences in Africana
Studies classes. Twenty-seven participants identified as male, 58 identified as female, and four
selected not to identify. The questions they were asked are aligned with the mission and learning
outcomes of the Department of Africana Studies. Among the participants, 54.4% were majors or
minors in Africana Studies and 45.6% were not. Among non-Africana Studies majors or minors,
all had taken at least one course in Africana Studies. Eighty-one percent of the current student
respondents were Black/African American. Eleven percent of those who identified as
Black/African American indicated mixed-race Black identity. Seven percent of the respondents
were White, 10% were Asian, and 2% identified as another racial/ethnic identity. Ten percent
ethnically identified as Mexican, Mexican American or Chicano. The researchers obtained
permission from Diversity University’s Institutional Review Board to analyze and publish the
results of students’ qualitative answers to an Africana Studies Department questionnaire. In the
Africana Studies Department and at Black Students organizations at Diversity University,
announcements were made, invited students to complete online questionnaires. No student
names were requested & IP addresses remained were confidential. Only students who provided
consent and had taken one or more Africana Studies courses were allowed to participate.

Participants completed questionnaires assessing the effectiveness of the Department of
Africana Studies. However, the present study presents an analysis of students’ answers to open-
ended questions about the most significant impacts of Africana Studies courses on them. The
present study also includes an analysis of students’ responses to questions about how their
experiences in Africana Studies courses differed or not from non- Africana Studies courses they
had taken. Specifically, students were asked “What are the most important things you’ve learned
in Africana Studies?”, “In your opinion, what have you gained most from the class/classes you
have taken in Africana Studies?” and “In your own opinion, how has your experience in your
Africana Studies class/es compare to your experiences in courses outside of Africana Studies?”.

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Data were collected over the course of a semester. Subsequently, participants’ responses
were subjected to content analysis and coded into several themes or patterns of responses to each
question. Themes representing the beliefs of less than 10% of the participants were discarded.
Preliminary themes were reanalyzed and ultimately the strongest themes remained, while the
least represented themes were eliminated. All student participant names were replaced with
pseudonyms. Coding of students’ responses to these questions revealed several key themes:
Historical Location, Knowledge of Self, Sense of Social Responsibility, Relevant/Engaging,
Communal Environment, Special Connection to Professors, and Unique Perspective. Students
provided responses that fit into more than one category. These results are illustrated below.

Results

Historical Location

Forty-three percent (38/89) of student respondents stated that in African Studies courses
they learned the “true” or “real” history of people of African descent. They repeatedly mentioned
learning information about people of African descent that were new, intriguing, and exciting.
They also explained how their learning caused them to see themselves. For example, some of
their responses were:

• “I learned a lot about African history, to ancient Kemet. U.S. government, and
historical context to Black issues” (Makayla, Black, Female, Bio-Chemistry and
Africana Studies Major)

• “Learning the actual history of Africans and African Americans breaking
stereotypes, and that our history didn't begin with slavery” (Niveah, Black
Female, Family and Consumer Services major)

• “I have gained a better sense of the contributions that Black people have made in
America and around the world. These classes remind me that I can go into any
field that I want because Black people have always been doing so many different
things, even if it is not normally taught in other classes.” (Chloe, Black, Female,
Physiology Major)

• “the history of African Americans that was never taught.” (Georgene, Racially
Non-Specified, Female, Physics and Astronomy Major).

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Students who provided history related responses placed emphasis on Africana people’s
contributions to humanity and struggles for liberation. Commonly found among these responses
was an emphasis on learning histories that had been excluded from students’ prior educational
experiences. Like Georgene, students expressed surprise, excitement, and intrigue about learning
things that had not been revealed to them about histories they had personal connections to.
Similar to Makayla, many of these students explained that their Africana Studies courses
provided them with historical contexts that helped them to understand present states of affairs in
Africana communities. Students also explained that their learning in Africana Studies
challenged falsehoods and racially/culturally biased interpretations of Africana people’s
histories. Ultimately, some students, like Chloe, discussed how the historiography they were
exposed to in Africana Studies influenced how they saw themselves and their possibilities in a
more positive light.

Knowledge of Self

Forty-six percent (41/89) of the student participants indicated that one of the most
important ways that Africana Studies impacted them, was by providing them with and/or
enhancing their knowledge of self. These students explained how what they had learned, had
caused them to have greater understanding, appreciation, and confidence in themselves. They
made note of how what they were learning helped them to feel more comfortable with who they
are. Others mentioned how their experience in Africana Studies had been a transformative
experience that caused them to change their outlooks on life. Examples of student comments
about knowledge of self are:

• “First off, I gained a declared major in Africana Studies, one in which I am proud
to be pursuing. Next, I have developed more of a pride in Black people, a pride
that became more developed once I learned more about Black people. I also feel
like I can be more politically correct about other races and ethnicities now that I
have been taught this about my own.” (Isaiah, a Black, Male, Africana Studies
Major)

• “Best educational experience I have ever had. Changed me as a person, changed
my outlook, and enlightened me. Never have I ever learned from such great
educators. Really the educators in the Africana Studies Department are one of the
most beautiful groups of educators I have ever met in my life. Best decision I
made to take so many Africana Studies courses. I learned about society and
what’s fair and unfair and just the sole purpose and significance of what it is to
give people equal opportunities and see them as an equal.

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• I really learned that we are all the same. In these classes, I learned and found my
passion meaning and purpose which is to help people and this is why I am now
pursuing a major in Social work.” (Aniyah, a Middle Eastern, Female, Africana
Studies Major)

• “I have learned a lot more about myself and who I want to be, moving forward in
my life.” (Jada, a Black, Female, International Relations Major)

• “I have gained a better understanding of the importance Africana history holds to
world history. I have also gained more confidence in my own cultural and racial
background being of Africana descent.” (Cameron, a Black, Male, Undeclared
Major)

• “I learned to appreciate my culture” (Destiny, a Black and Filipino, Female,
Engineering Major)

Students who mentioned knowledge of self as something that they gained from their Africana
Studies classes made comments in three categories: self-awareness, cultural appreciation, and
self-perception. Students like Isaiah and Jada mentioned learning more about people of African
descent and thus gaining knowledge and awareness of themselves. Students like Cameron and
Destiny mentioned that their experiences in Africana Studies classes specifically provided them
with a greater understanding and appreciation of the cultures of people of African descent.
Lastly, students like Isaiah, mentioned that they gained enhanced confidence and pride in
themselves and Black people collectively. It was primarily Black students who mentioned that
they had gained “knowledge of self”. Generally, these students gained knowledge and awareness
of Black people’s current realities and heritage, which empowered them with confidence and
self-belief.

Sense of Social Responsibility

Nineteen percent (17/89) of the student participants mentioned learning the importance of
social responsibility in their Africana Studies classes. These students explained how they
learned the importance of using what they learn in college to serve their communities, to help
underserved populations, and to challenge injustice. Some examples of responses about social
responsibility are:

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